Split, Elder Anderson still struggling a bit, Seventy and Lemurs

Howdy!! 

Another week in the books. I cant believe I am in Madagascar....How cool is that?? Haha

Well Elder Anderson is still pushing through. He is still best friends with the toilet, but then again so are all missionaries in Mada. Just as he got over his stomach problems, here comes a fever and stuffy nose!!!! Oh the joy of being a new missionary. Today he is doing pretty well though and we should have a good week ahead of us. 

So let me clarify something about last weeks blog....I read a whole lot of the Old Testament but didnt finish it haha. I went through it witha study guiide but I was kinda joking when I said I read it all hahaha. April Fools in August I guess? 

Well it was a busy week here in the mission due to the fact that we had 8 missionaries go home and 14 come in!! I now have a brother as Elder Gaul is training again!! Also, Elder Ralaivao my last comp is training and pretty much everyone else in the mission!! The group that came in seems awesome. Literally all of them seem like straight legends and that is exactly what the mission needed right now. Also, we had a Seventy visit us and give a Zone Conference this Saturday so everyone came up to Tana. Anderson and I, had Elder Stokes working with us all week. He came to the mission 6 weeks before me and is an awesome guy. Hes serving in Toliara amongst the Baobab Trees (lucky duck). It was a great time, but he headed out to Toliara again late Saturday night. 

The Zone Conference was great. Elder Hamilton of the Seventy came and did a mission tour. He is the First Counselor in the Africa Southeast Area Presidency. Very very very spiritual man and he had a great presence about him. Answered a lot of our questions about how to be better missionaries? how to help this country? etc.... And the teaching was great. Loved it. 

He said one thing that really stuck out to me about the poverty here. He quoted an Apostle and said if the Latter Day Saints here pay their tithing, it will lift, not only the members, but the whole country out of poverty. DANG. He then discussed the success of both Brazil and Mexico and how when the church grows in an area, so does the country. 

This is God's church. I see it everyday. I cant deny it. My job is to just help people understand that and Elder Anderson and I need all the help we can get!! 

I love yall and have a great week!! 

God bless, 

Elder Hein

PS We went to the zoo and saw lemurs today. We quietly payed the guards a little money  and got to go in to the cage and have the lemurs crawl all over us!   

Lemurs

Lemurs

Elder Anderson when he was feeling well.  He is on a telephone pole.

Croc farm we visited when Elder Anderson was feeling well.

Look at all the crocs on the other side of the water.  

Turtles!

Area where I work everyday

Soccer against the members.  That's me in yellow.  As missionaries we play the members about every other week.

Soccer with the members!

It hit Elder Anderson

Well, it finally hit Elder Anderson. The world of dirty restaurants and sickness finally hit him. He was terribly sick this week and we stayed in a bunch this week. Its always the worst when you have to stay in from work, but he needed it. The toilet has become Elder Anderson's best friend this past week. He has spent a lot of sleepless nights in the bathroom haha. 

Other than that, not too much. Pretty boring week! But because of my companions sickness, I read the Old Testament. All of it. Yes I did. 

Transfer news came in last night and obviously Anderson and I are staying together for another transfer!!! Only 6 more weeks and Im on my way to another area! Crazy how time goes on the mission. 

I gave a talk in church this past week. I gave it on trusting The Lord. Our Ward has a problem with laziness. No one takes responsibility for things. No one likes to take a stand. All of us have timmes in our lives when we like to take the middle road, even though it doesnt exist. We let things happen, and then say, "Thats just life." No its not. Take a stand. Do something about it. Make a change. But dont complain when because of your lack of taking a stand, bad things come. Life is hard, but the Gospel makes it simple.  Sorry to be preachy but thats what it is. 

I love yall, and I hope yall have a good week. TAKE A STAND

God bless, 

Elder Hein

Addresses in Madagascar

Ny Namako!!

Well we had a great week here. Lots of walking and walking and walking. Ill explain a tad more later. 

Elder Anderson is still sticking around and still making me pie. Oh how I love him. He improved in his Malagasy a ton this week and it is just a reminder to me of how The Lord helps us learn this crazy language so fast. Plus he turned the big 20 this past Saturday and we had a mini party. By mini I mean really small. Just me and him at the house hahha. I made brownies and that was as close as I could do for a cake. 

WE CANT FIND THE PASTOR GUY ANYWHERE. It is really a bummer. The guy was set and he loved our message. He felt the truthfulness of it. And it doesnt help that the other Pastor is mad at him and wont help us find the house. Great guy...Ill leave it at that. Its so hard to find houses in Mada, which brings me to my next thought:

We are having a really tough time with investigators here. We will tract, teach lessons, visit people, but no one progresses. Its really frustrating. Really frustrating. So Elder Anderson had the idea of focusing on Less Active Members. We went all in this week and it payed off. We have 600 people on the Member list and only 130 come to church on Sunday....yeah we got a lot of work to do. So we got the list and headed out. Most people dont have an address on the list. Sometimes it just says "Antananarivo" hahahah. So we went after the people with an address. Thats pretty much impossible as well. Let me explain. In America you have a nice street with houses on it that all have addresses. The addresses go 8208, 8212, 8216, etc. Here in Mada the number is based on when it was built. So you could have be at one house that was the 50th house built in the area and you are looking for the 51st. But it is clear on the other side of town because thats how they built it chronologically hahaha. Just a crazy crazy system. So that makes for asking tons of people and getting help from members. I have truly seen on my mission how Missionary Work goes the best, when the members are involved. This church is just a massive family and I love it. 

But investigator wise we had a great experience, We have been teaching this part member family. Everyone is a member besides the Mom. Missionaries for the past two years have taught her, but she just always says she isnt ready. We taught her this past week and at the end of the lesson she said boldly, "Im ready. It has taken me a while but I got my witness. I want to be baptized September 6." I just kinda sat there a little taken back and then replied....YES MA'AM. Awesome stuff. We cant force the gospel on anyone. It comes in the Lord's time. In this womans case, 2 years!! 

I love this place. I love the work. I love my companion. I love my Savior Jesus Christ. 

God bless, 

Elder Hein  

Tough, Tough Week

Howdy

Tough, tough week. I feel everything was against us haha. Thats alright though. Gotta have tough weeks everynow and then. It is good for me. As my Dad would say, "Puts hair on your chest." 

Well the Pastor story......yeah it fell through. Went to go meet with him on Friday to make sure of our time on Saturday. Couldnt find him. But found the other Pastor at the church. Well turns out the Pastor we were teaching liked our doctrine so much that he started using it in church...That didnt go over well with the other pastor and he got kicked out of the church. I love Madagascar. But the other Pastor is also learning from us and wants to set up a "debate." Sounds a lot like Bible Bashing to me. He said he wants to give us an hour and him an hour and then the people choose. Is that okay?? I dont know. If it turns in to Bible Bashing, I will remember the two rules my Dad taught me:

1: Never Bible Bash

2: If you do, never lose. 

Hahahah

Now we are trying to find the first Pastor we were teaching and teach him. Hopefully he could bring some of the congregation to learn from us as well. 

Other than that, no big highlights of the week. Elder Anderson made a chocolate pie that was heavenly. Im proud of my son. And I perfected my pancake rcipe. Thinking of opening up a shop when I get home. 

Lastlly, we had a service project this Saturday and it was a Mormon Helping Hands event. Awesome stuff!! We painted a school building and didnt quite finish so we got more work next week! Its great to get the Ward out and all doing some service work. Plus the community sees that and loves it!!! 

Well, thats it. Love yall!

Elder Hein

Me, playing soccer with the locals

Nice Billboard!

Service Project - Painting a school

My son!

Fun, local kids.